July 2009 – Page 3

It’s not Iran!

This came into my e-mail box yesterday as being “officially” released…I saw it Friday and knew I’d post it sooner or later – why not today? The one thing I dislike about YouTube is that they half-blow the punch line with the title being placed in the frame – oh well.

As you can see, the Our Country Deserves Better PAC created the ad and I think it’s a good one. Add the strife in Honduras into the mix and perhaps our TEA Parties are the start of a freedom-fighter movement in America.

I love it when the comparisons are this easy.

Don’t count the environmentalists out just yet…

A couple weeks back much hay was made about the Environmental Protection Agency suppressing a study compiled by Dr. Alan Carlin – a study which contradicted the EPA’s assertion that global climate change is man-made and can only be stopped through onerous restrictions on what Americans can drive, consume, and produce. An example of this hullabaloo comes from this post by Robert Romano on the Americans for Limited Government blogsite.

In reading through the report, however, I did find a loophole that may convince the anti-growth forces among the global warming fanatics that, indeed, there is cause for concern. Despite the fact that temperatures as a whole globally have declined over the last decade, there are pockets where temperatures have increased. The study defines it this way:

There appears that there is another major influence on global temperatures – but significantly only for surface temperature measurements. This is the effect of rapidly expanding urbanization worldwide and a number of other factors that appear to be corrupting surface measurements. Because most surface measurements are made in urban areas there is a high risk that the urban heat island will influence the measurements made. The UHI effect is well known and well documented.

In practice, cities do tend to be warmer than the surrounding countryside because of the amount of pavement found in most urban areas. Forested areas tend to be cooler, which is why the planting of trees is encouraged.

What worries me most about this particular conclusion is the opportunity it can provide for those who favor so-called “green” building to point out that even the global warming skeptics acknowledge that standard building and development practices will lead to climate change, even if it’s on a microscopic level. Naturally their proposed solution would lead to higher building costs and less possible suitability for a property’s highest and best use.

Whether knowingly or not, one offshoot of this theory will commence in Maryland this coming October. Senate Bill 666, passed this year, reduces the threshold for cutting forested land without state intervention from 40,000 square feet to 20,000 square feet. (Originally the bill would have required forest conservation plans for grading or subdivision permits on parcels of 20,000 square feet or more, but that was scrapped before passage leaving the current 40,000 square foot threshold in place.) In essence the state is trying to force greenways onto the public, stifling needed economic development. If you take away a forested piece of land, the idea of current law is to replace it somewhere else or, if you cannot do so, you would pay the state 10 cents per square foot of affected area (the fee will triple to 30 cents once SB666 becomes law in October.)

Given the zealousness of the radical environmentalists in Maryland, there’s no need to give them further cause to make development more difficult yet I can see where this study – combined with those upcoming changes in the law – may hand them the wherewithal to do so. For them, every tiny incremental change is a step in their direction and a step away from either being able to do that with your property which you see fit or the enactment of sensible controls locally – the radical green faction prefers tarring all of Maryland with the same broad brush by having Annapolis govern by fiat.

With our economic turmoil the green side needs to take a time out and let the current restrictions run their course. (Needless to say, I think a rollback is in order but I’m not holding my breath on that prospect.) Giving them another chance to scream about global warming doesn’t help the cause of liberty and could prove counterproductive even in the success the Carlin study provides in the ongoing battle against Radical Green.

More thoughts on the TEA Party

Editor’s note: I actually did this article as an adjunct to my Red County site to link to my TEA Party post yesterday because pictorial posts don’t always transfer well there. But I liked expressing my thoughts on Saturday so much I decided to bring it back here and kind of switch things around for a change.

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While I have a pictorial post on my home website, monoblogue, I thought it may work out better on Red County to skip the pictures since the transition often omits my captioning text. So this post is more on my thoughts a couple days removed from the proceedings.

The attendance for our party wasn’t as large as it was in April, but I would argue that’s due to two reasons. The obvious answer is having a TEA Party on a national holiday as opposed to a day of mourning for your money. That also segues into the second reason – on April 15th most of us are good and mad at the IRS but by July citizens are resigned to having that large chunk taken out of their paycheck (if they’re still fortunate enough to collect one) and politics – at least here in Maryland – isn’t quite as sore of a subject. The talk isn’t about what the General Assembly tried to do to us now because their session ended in early April.

Moreover, I’m not sure that there wasn’t a perception – spread gleefully by the Leftmedia – that most of the attendees would be some fringe element. Part of me would like to see more involvement from local Republican elected officials – of the county’s elected Republicans I only saw two others there, a husband and wife – but then again given the anti-GOP sentiment of a few speakers who equated the two political parties as peas in a pod their lack of attendance could be an advantage later on. Better to shed light than heat in the spirit of the moment.

The only difficulty with their efforts lies in a electoral law which is stacked in favor of the two major parties in Maryland. It’s exceedingly difficult for people outside that realm to crack the ballot and then they don’t have the party apparatus behind them. It creates a lack of money and volunteers which generally spells defeat.

On the whole, I happen to believe that most of these people would naturally fall into the Republican sphere but the problem is that national Republicans have squandered that goodwill by coming into home districts talking the conservative talk but far too often voting with the centrists and liberals in their state capitals and in Washington, D.C. Some locally argue that our former Republican Congressman, Wayne Gilchrest, would have won the seat had State Senator Andy Harris not defeated him in a vicious primary. But given his moderate-to-liberal record on many issues would he have been an improvement over Frank Kratovil? Maybe a little, but not nearly as much as Harris would have been and the GOP brand would be tarnished even more in the eyes of local concerned citizens.

As I see it, Republicans at all levels need to learn from the TEA Party movement and embrace it. All those who took time out of their holiday to gather at the Government Office Building in downtown Salisbury as well as over 1,500 other locales are doing is begging for a new Contract With America or similar document. I’m happy to push for one too, but it will take those already in office to assist in its enactment.

And while I’m at it, I’d also like to express my congratulations to the Wicomico County East Side Chamber of Commerce for putting on a nice event in Willards Saturday. Kudos go to these fine folks:

Next time you're in these local businesses, you should thank them for a job well done. Perhaps next year it can all be privately funded and allow the towns of Willards and Pittsville to spend funds on essential services.

Hopefully the third annual event next year will be bigger, better, and have double the number of sponsors!

Salisbury’s July 4th TEA Party in pictures and text

I’ll put up a long post warning before I begin…I started out with over 20 pictures and distilled it down to 16 photos. If you have the capability (I notice this doesn’t work with Firefox, more’s the pity) the captions help tell the story. Hold your mouse over the picture.

Not having a wide-angle lens, I couldn't get the full lawn of the Government Office Building in one shot. This is looking toward the Wicomico County Courthouse.

Standing in the same spot, I turned and looked toward Division Street. This was taken just before 10 a.m. and the crowd hadn't peaked yet.

There weren’t as many people at the July 4th rendition of the TEA Party as there were on April 15th despite the fact that the weather was nicer. Obviously that was countered by the fact that many had made holiday plans; however the anger and frustration was just as evident based on what many of the speakers noted in their remarks.

The Minuteman was back in full regalia, although he stayed much drier this time around. If you don't know, the flag is a 'Don't Tread On Me' flag.

This gentleman was one of the first speakers and most noteworthy among his remarks was a call to “get the statists out of office and put in those who love liberty.” He exhorted us to “get in the faces of our elected officials” and concluded that “when the people fear the government, that is tyranny (but) when the government fears the people it is liberty.” He was circulating a petition to sign and deliver personally to the front door of elected officials. (That covered the “get in their face” part.)

Mike Brewington was among a number other speakers who came up for a particular cause, his being the National Rifle Association.

Local NRA organizer and spokesman Mike Brewington derided Maryland's pitiful Second Amendment record.

Others let their signs do the talking.

At least for one day the majority wasn't so silent.

This sign has gotten plenty of play in the local media and blogosphere. So, where is that birth certificate anyway?

I think the answer is 1,000,000,000,001. That's a LOT of zeroes.

I'd love to have someone from the left argue with this one. What rights are you restoring? Photo courtesy of Sheila Fields, my thanks to her!

And this sign holder is correct. We are the government, not just the governed. The problem is the best and brightest who were supposed to represent us have devolved into the greediest and most corrupt.

Even the kids got into the act, although I can personally vouch that the sign on the left was created last Wednesday by someone really special. They're definitely tailored to Delmarva.

Our protest even spilled over as some went down to the corner of Division Street and Business Route 50 to express their viewpoint.

These concerned citizens strolled down the street to the corner to make their case for capitalism and smaller government. Photo courtesy of Sheila Fields.

Now here’s something I don’t understand, and perhaps it’s the reputation garnered by the protests on the left. You had 200 or so law-abiding citizens, so was there any need for this guy to keep an eye on us?

Isn't the idea of police work to go where the criminals are? Maybe he needs to check out a different part of town then.

Events like this don’t come together from thin air. Chris Lewis, who helped put together the original April 15th TEA Party, is now mulling a run for Congress. Looks like he has a ready-made volunteer force if he uses it wisely. Here he speaks to close the proceedings.

Chris Lewis was the final speaker. At the moment he's thinking of attempting to take Frank Kratovil's job - honestly he's more qualified to be a representative of the people than Frank is. Maybe it's a time for the return of the citizen legislator the Founding Fathers envisioned.

Also adopting the event as their own was the local Americans for Prosperity chapter. Their co-chair Julie Brewington was there early getting things underway, and had her own message for our Congressman.

The Americans for Prosperity organization had plenty of information available for those who wished to follow up their attendance with other concrete action.

AFP local co-chair Julie Brewington in front of their tent. I'm all for her sentiment because I wouldn't have hired Frank in the first place!

The gathering lasted three hours, and there were probably 20 to 30 speakers all told. Some were brief, and some seemed to go on for 15 or 20 minutes. None of them were professional politicians, and I was the only elected official to speak – part of my pitch was to hold our legislators accountable and the other part to let those there know that the GOP has a school board opening (as do the Democrats.)

As a group, it’s a pretty safe bet that we hold certain truths to be self-evident. The final picture is what it’s all about, and I’m pleased to see AFP making these available at the event.

The Constitution. It doesn't look living to me!

Probably the next big TEA Party-style gathering is a national one slated for the weekend of September 11th in Washington, D.C. While I don’t know this for a fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if there weren’t a bus chartered from Salisbury to ferry interested participants to the event – at least the September 12th gathering.

If I go I’ll be sure to have pictures!

Help wanted on Wicomico Board of Education

With the recent resignation of board member Brian Kilgore, the local GOP has a rare opportunity to have a say in the workings of local education. Because Kilgore was a Republican appointee it falls to the Wicomico County Republican Central Committee (of which I’m a part) to recommend a replacement for Kilgore. (It doesn’t mean our selection will be picked, but a good candidate having our backing should be able to convince Senator Stoltzfus, who also has input, of his or her qualifications and desire to serve.)

As our Vice Chair, Dave Parker, notes:

There’s a lot of important stuff to do, so it does take a reasonable amount of time. Interest and a commitment to education are required, but NOT direct experience in the educational process.

Among other items, the Board controls about half of the county’s budget. Obviously some of that outlay is governed by collective bargaining agreements, but this could be a golden opportunity for someone who wishes to reform the educational process to have their say.

While I don’t speak for the body as a whole, in my eyes an applicant should have an idea of how the county can spend that vast amount of tax money which goes to education at a level closest to the child. If it takes being tough on the teachers’ union the next time their contract comes up and making a few who have cushy administrative jobs whine, so be it. They will anyway.

It would also be nice to figure out how to keep Fedzilla (and Annapolis) off our back and cut the strings they’re strangling local control with but unfortunately we’re probably way too beholden to them at this time to change that fact within the remainder of Kilgore’s unexpired term, which runs until 2013. That and you’ll have three Democrat appointees (one of whom will also be new as they also have an opening) to deal with.

However, if you’re willing to play Don Quixote for awhile and perhaps put some good ideas into motion eventually, you can contact either our WCRCC Chair, Dr. John Bartkovich at (410) 742-5399, or Senator Lowell Stoltzfus’ office at (410) 742-3999.

Time for accountability once again

In the culmination of several weeks’ worth of research and compilation, at noon today I will reveal the 2009 edition of the monoblogue Accountability Project, where I grade all 188 members of the Maryland General Assembly on a selected roster of votes they cast in this spring’s session. You can find it then under the “Internal links” section in the left-hand column.

In addition, I’ve updated the overall term ratings to reflect the addition of 33 votes for House of Delegates members and 32 votes for those in the Maryland Senate. This brings the total number of votes rated for the 2007-2010 term to 96 for the House and 106 for the Senate.

While it’s obvious that my regard for the voting record of the state’s legislative body is pretty low, it seemed that this year’s voting was worse than ever if you’re a freedom-loving individual as I am. More money being pilfered from our pockets, more restrictions on what we can and cannot do with our private property and the products and services we use, and further erosion of our Second Amendment rights were only a few of the lowlights of this year’s session.

And too many Republicans were lured by the siren song of getting a few crumbs from majority Democrats, as you’ll see. The overall ratings of all the District 37 and 38 Republicans declined – to me, that’s a worrisome trend that’s hopefully only a reflection of particular votes I selected and not overall moderation.

We don’t know yet what Maryland’s financial future will hold and if there will be the need for a Special Session, so I’m holding off on the Legislative Awards and Scorn until later this year. But the roster of Legislative All-Stars appears to be smaller this year while the Reasons for Recall list may reach an all-time high.

That’s not a good sign for my adopted home state. You’ll see the carnage at noon today.

Tomorrow is TEA Party day

On Wednesday I had some fun being creative in another way, as a bunch of concerned local citizens associated with the Americans for Prosperity local chapter got together to make signs for Saturday morning’s big event.

This was one of my creations you'll hopefully be there to see Saturday. Photo by Kim Corkran.

It wasn’t a large group (perhaps eight people, I wasn’t sitting there counting) but we cranked out quite a few neat little signs. This was the first one I created.

I know you can read it, it's just a reminder that TEA is actually an acronym.

This is the group photo I took as we were somewhat hard at work.

It was a sunny evening so we got to work outdoors, with hotdogs and hamburgers on the grill. No vegans need apply.

I’ve seen a number of commentors on my left (and some on my side) openly disdaining the TEA Party movement. Well, let’s see what we have accomplished locally. In just three short months, we had a rally that drew hundreds of people on a chilly, raw day, rolled back a proposed tax increase in Somerset County, and found a potential political candidate who may have never gotten involved in the system if not for the TEA Party serving as an impetus. I didn’t know most of the people at the original TEA Party so one couldn’t say it was the same old political activists.

Personally I think we’re just the tip of the iceberg; a silent majority who’s choosing not to be silent anymore because the federal and state governments have finally overstepped their bounds to a point that people are mad and won’t take it anymore. Bailouts, stimulus, putting our grandchildren into debt: all this offended the common sense of millions of Americans.

Nor do I believe that these protests happened to spring up simply because President Obama came into office. Only a racist would see these TEA Party protests as racially-based.

I also happen to think that the higher echelon of the Republican Party better start paying attention to what we’re saying.

(I know there’s a tiny number of conservative Democrats out there, but in truth you may as well switch parties – don’t hold your breath waiting on that party to return to its Humphrey/Kennedy roots. You have the same problem conservative Republicans faced with a moderate President Bush in office; it’s difficult to go against a President from your party no matter how odious the policy.)

Perhaps the GOP is undergoing a schism that could divide the party much as Democrats divided over civil rights 60 years ago. But the Democrats resumed power shortly afterward and the GOP has the same prospect for 2010 and 2012 if they can take advantage of the motivated electorate coming out to the TEA Parties and adopt the program the TEA partiers seek – smaller, less intrusive government that doesn’t reach into our wallet as much instead of “politics as usual”.

Given the direction our President is taking us, that’s not too difficult of a sell job.

Shorebird of the Week – July 2, 2009

Early on this bemused look was common for Shorebirds second baseman L.J. Hoes, but he's got the hottest bat on the Shorebirds lately. Photo by Kim Corkran.
L.J. Hoes at the plate in an April game against the Hagerstown Suns.

The youngest player on the Shorebirds’ roster and one of their two Maryland natives striving to get to the Orioles someday, second baseman L.J. Hoes has picked up the batting pace in recent days.

Hoes, whose given name is Jerome, made it to the South Atlantic League’s All-Star break with a .238 batting mark but in the seven games since play resumed has come untracked for a much more respectable .256 average. Also, he’s established himself as a threat on the bases, cracking double-digits in steals by swiping three against Lakewood on June 28th.

L.J. was drafted last season out of high school (St. John’s HS in Washington, DC) in the 3rd round by the Orioles, so naturally he’s a prospect they’re following closely. Assigned to the Gulf Coast League’s Orioles franchise last year, he responded by hitting .308 with a homer and 18 RBI in 48 games. That performance allowed the Orioles brass to feel comfortable advancing him to a full-season team at barely 19 years of age – rare for a high school draftee.

For the Shorebirds, that .256 batting mark and 12 steals in 69 games is also complemented by a homer and 28 RBI – you’ll find L.J. among the team leaders in most offensive categories. The areas he perhaps needs to work on are cutting down somewhat on strikeouts (although most hitters at this level share the same problem) and drawing a few more walks – a sub-.300 on-base percentage needs to improve for L.J. to advance through the system.

With his young age, it wouldn’t be a complete surprise to see L.J. play the full 2009 season here and perhaps stick around for the opening weeks of 2010 before advancing to Frederick. As his average and batting eye improve, though, he could be on a faster track to perhaps spelling Brian Roberts as another great Orioles second baseman.

Well, that was fast…

Looks like Campaign 2010 has already claimed its first casualty:

Effective June 29, 2009, Jim Rutledge has suspended his campaign to represent the citizens of Maryland in the United States Senate.

Recent developments have led Jim Rutledge to decide that his personal and professional commitments will prevent him from giving the people of Maryland the necessary commitment to campaign for election to the United States Senate in 2010.

Jim expresses his heartfelt gratitude for all those who have supported him with their time, talents, and resources. Jim will continue to promote freedom and those unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and encourages you to exercise your freedom of speech.

Thank you and Live Free.

Jim Rutledge

It’s definitely unfortunate because there was no sign of his dropping out when he came to address the Wicomico County Republican Club last week. Sure, his was a long-shot bid to unseat Senator Mikulski but that would be true of practically any Republican in Maryland not named Bob Ehrlich.

Apparently this news has emboldened another Republican to throw his hat into the ring, at least according to his Facebook page. Queen Anne’s County Commissioner Dr. Eric Wargotz is running, or so he claims. I’ve already asked Eric about a website so once that’s up and running I’ll link to it. In the meantime we’ll see if Wargotz is willing to campaign here and address our club.

I’m sorry to see Rutledge go but obviously other things are more important to him than a Senate seat.

Postscript: See the comment, he’s back in.